Seven Minute Delivery
by karly05
Summary: A little something for Christmas, albeit belated. This takes place about a week after my story "Christmas Song," so it will help to be familiar with that. Ferbnessa - the gift that keeps on giving!


**A/N – Just a little belated Christmas present. This takes place a week or so after "Christmas Song," so Ferb is 14, Vanessa is 19, and they have not spoken or seen each other since the aftermath of the boys' party.**

Seven Minute Delivery

Vanessa Doofenshmirtz was bored. She was sprawled on her mother's sofa, trying to get through some of the reading she had brought home from college on her winter break. It was mid-afternoon on Christmas Eve, and she had the house to herself. Mom had invited her to come along to the Charitable Charities Food Pantry to help bag canned goods for the needy, but she wasn't in the mood. Nor was she in the mood for the seventeenth airing of some old Christmas movie on TV. And she was rapidly reaching the conclusion that she was _really_ not in the mood for Geology 101. Chucking aside the text book, she tossed her head back against the sofa cushions and wandered off into Vanessaland.

_Maybe I should have gone with Mom._

_Oh, yeah, and spend the day listening to Mr. Greevey's cat stories, and Mrs. Byrd howling along with the Christmas music, and that Mrs. What's-her-name griping about her inlaws. I don't think so._

_It's not too late to run over to Dad's for a while._

_Didn't he say something this morning about building a Figgy-Pudding-inator?_

_Oh, yeah. I don't even want to know what __that's__ about._

_But Perry might be there._

_Yeah, I wouldn't mind seeing Perry._

_Hel-LO! Self-destruct button? Figgy Pudding everywhere? I am definitely not in the mood for that!_

_I could try calling Kasey again._

Vanessa picked up her cell phone and dialed her college roomie and lab partner. She had no better luck this time than she had had that morning, as the call rolled straight into the girl's voice mail. She retried a couple of other friends, again with the same results she'd gotten earlier in the day: nothing but voice mail.

_Of course everyone's busy. It's Christmas Eve._

_I could try Candace._

Vanessa's thumb hovered over the key pad as she considered this. Then from some remote corner of Vanessaland came the thought:

_Or Ferb._

"No!" The word actually came out of her mouth as she tossed the phone to the far end of the couch. She hadn't spoken to Ferb Fletcher since he'd pulled that crazy stunt after the Christmas party. That unexpected kiss had crossed all sorts of boundaries, and Vanessa had put the boy off as firmly as she could. _Maybe too firmly_, she had thought when she still hadn't heard anything from him three days later. She hadn't meant to hurt him (_although it's not like he gave me much of a choice)_, and she hadn't meant to cut off _all_ contact – after all, she had told him they could still be friends. _No guy ever likes to hear that, even if he's just fourteen._ Honestly, she was surprised he hadn't been pestering her, playing the 'poor me' card, moping and whining and begging for her attention. _That's what Johnny would have done._ Yeah, well, Ferb wasn't Johnny. Ferb was _Ferb, _and after three days of silence from him, Vanessa had finally given in to her curiosity and tossed him a text: _Hey, Ferb. How's it going?_

She'd had no response until late that night, just as she was settling down to sleep, when her phone had chirped and the answering text had popped up: _Hello, Vanessa. Gran and Gramps are here from England. Hope you're enjoying the holiday._

_Yeah,_ she had texted back_._ _Hanging out at my Mom's now until Christmas._

Two more days had passed since that brief exchange. Now Vanessa looked pensively at the phone.

_I guess it wouldn't hurt to call him._

She was just reaching out to retrieve the phone when the doorbell rang. Getting up, she went to answer it. On the step was a guy in a red ball cap and a jacket embroidered with the name _Paul_. A van marked HIGHTAIL DELIVERY was parked in the street.

"Seven Minute Delivery for a Miss Vanessa Doofenshmirtz," he informed her cheerfully.

"Really?" She was surprised by the box he handed her. "What is it?"

"I have no idea. But it sure does smell good! Sign here, please." He held out a clipboard with a pen attached to it. "You know, I deliver a lot of packages to a _Heinz_ Doofenshmirtz. He lives in that weird-looking building downtown."

"Yeah," Vanessa managed a polite smile. "He's my Dad."

"You don't say," Paul chuckled. "He's a character, isn't he?"

"Yes. Yes, he is." She was getting a whiff of the package now, and Paul was right. It smelled delicious.

The deliveryman reclaimed his clipboard and peeled off the top sheet, handing it back to her. "Pink copy's yours. Merry Christmas!"

Vanessa carried the box into the kitchen and found a knife with which to open it. Inside the cardboard container was a bundle wrapped in aluminum foil and green ribbon. It was warm to her touch, and its comforting, spicy aroma was enticing. There was a small envelope attached with her name printed on the outside, and she opened it.

_Dear Vanessa,_

_Gran and I have been baking. I hope you like ginger scones._

_Happy Christmas from your friend,_

_Ferb_

The voices of Vanessaland launched into a whirlwind of chatter.

_What is he, psychic?_

_I __love__ ginger scones!_

'_Happy Christmas' – He's so British…_

Eagerly pulling back the foil, Vanessa uncovered a half dozen fat, triangular baked treats. Lifting one with her fingertips, she drew in a deep breath, relishing the aroma before she bit into the scone.

_Oh, my gosh…_

It was dense and crumbly, perfectly crusty on the outside and light as a feather on the inside. There was just the right amount of spice to it, and just the right touch of sweetness, and just the right hint of something citrusy as the warm, fresh scone melted in her mouth. The sheer goodness of it radiated through her from her tummy outward, and she sighed and smiled with joy as she devoured it. It tasted like Christmas.

_You know, maybe I should go by Dad's. I'll bet he's got the coffee-inator warmed up._

_Yeah, a cup of coffee would be great with this._

_Maybe Perry's still there. Wonder if he likes scones._

_Are you kidding? I'm not sharing these!_

_Oh, just a couple, one for Dad, one for Perry._

_Maybe I'll stop by and help Mom for a minute afterward._

_Yeah, it's not like I'd have to stay all day._

Vanessa was humming as she bundled up three scones to take with her, re-wrapping the rest to keep there for later. "Got that Christmas feeling…" she warbled lightly to herself, "Goin' to my Dad's place, takin' him some goodies, gonna have some coffee, singin' what I'm doing…"

There was one last thing to take care of, though, before she left the house, and she fetched her phone from the living room. When she dialed, it rang only twice before he picked up.

"Hello, Vanessa?" came the familiar British accent. _Calm as ever_, she noted.

"Hey, Ferb. Thanks for the scones…"

THE END

**A/N - I love the bit in P&F Christmas Vacation where Candace is walking to Jeremy's and singing the little impromptu lines about "Got that Christmas feeling... Singin' what I'm doing..." so I made Vanessa do that here. And I LOVE the "Welcome to Ferbland" gag from "Cheers for Fears" and so now we have "Vanessaland." **


End file.
